 | | Interview with Alibre's CEO Greg Millikenreprinted by permission of Ralph Grabowski, editor
WorldCAD Access
September 15, 2004I'm in Denver, USA for the IntelliCAD Worldwide Conference -- or a similar name to that. By coincidence, Alibre CEO Greg Milliken started his V8 press tour today, so we agreed to meet in Denver. We have an OK dinner at a nearby Applebees, and then Mr. Milliken launches into his main message. Not a Alibre Design V8 demo, but his message as CEO: Alibre is here to stay, and to grow at the expense of the $5,000 MCAD packages. Some new companies come to visit me, and I have to tell them -- bluntly -- that I don't think they're going to make it. Alibre, in its early days, was similar, riding the Internet wave as yet-another ASP [application service provider] running an unknown and untested CAD package. Then someone knocked some sense into the company, and they switched into an organization with a CAD software and financial model that impresses me: - US$4 million a year in revenue, and profitable.
- subscription renewal rate of 50%
- lean cost structure (kinda like upFront.eZine's).
- intimate knowledge of the customer, using the technology leftover from the Internet bubble.
- integration of community with software.
The Alibre Design software's front end connects with other Alibre customers in an MSN Messenger-like interface. Support is live. Alibre consultants are independent of the company, but also connect into the community. Other tidbits.... Mr. Milliken figures his company has 1% of the mid-range market, which includes SolidWorks, Solid Edge, Inventor, think3, and others in the $5,000-price range. His software, in contrast, is in the $795-$1795 range, plus $295/yr maintenance.... 95% of his customers have 5 or fewer seats of Alibre, so larger shops are a growth area.... Alibre is sold direct in Canada and US, but through VARs in Europe and Asia... Available now in seven languages... won't bother with surface modeling for now, because surface models can be imported and converted to solids... next release in 1Q05... in addition to selling more licenses of Alibre, Mr. Milliken is working on incorporating Alibre Design into other software, such as finite element analysis and other verticals. Is Alibre going to get a version of IntelliCAD, as has SolidWorks? Mr. Milliken says there is little demand at this point. About the AuthorRalph Grabowski is an editor at upFront.eZine Publishing, Ltd. (previously known as XYZ Publishing, Ltd.). Ralph is the author of 60 books and several hundred articles for dozens magazines and newsletters about CAD, graphics, and the Internet. More MCAD Select Articles |
